Johan Samuel Rosensvärd (July 31, 1782 – December 10, 1818) was a Swedish military officer and colonial administrator who served as governor of

Saint Barthélemy Saint Barthélemy, officially the Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Barthélemy, also known as St. Barts (English) or St. Barth (French), is an overseas collectivity of France in the Caribbean. The island lies about southeast of the island ...

from 1816 to 1818, the only Swedish colony at the time.

Biography

Born to Carl Reinhold Pettersén and Lovisa Eleonora Rabbe, the family had been ennobled in 1781 and took the name Rosensvärd. Rosensvärd entered the military and attained the rank of major in 1814. The following year, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. In 1816, Rosensvärd was appointed governor of Saint Barthélemy, a position he held until his death. Displeased with the conditions of the governor's residence and the government secretary's house, located on what is now Rue du Roi Oscar II, Rosensvärd requested extensive renovations for these facilities. He also acquired ten slaves and five servants for his household. His health worsened in 1818, and he was temporarily relieved of his duties as governor. On the advice of his physician, he travelled to

Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...

for treatment after contracting tuberculosis. There, he succumbed to his illness and is believed to be resting in an unmarked grave. Rosensvärd married Kristina Sofia Appelquist in 1815, and the couple had a son, , who later served as

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

from 1877 to 1880.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rosensvärd, Johan Samuel 1782 births 1818 deaths 19th-century Swedish military personnel Swedish colonial governors of Saint Barthélémy Swedish slave owners 19th-century Swedish nobility Military personnel from Stockholm